The National Hurricane Center said Oscar has strengthened into a hurricane. Hurricane Oscar has maximum sustained winds around 80 mph and is moving west at 12 mph. A Hurricane Warning advisory has been issued for the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeast Bahamas.

Hurricane Oscar, a surprisingly powerful but compact storm, is defying forecasts and posing a threat to the Turks and Caicos Islands, the southeastern Bahamas, and eastern Cuba. The storm, which was initially expected to remain a tropical storm,

Tropical Storm Oscar has upgraded to a hurricane just hours after forming near Turks and Caicos Islands Saturday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center. >> Video above: Hurricane Kidcast: What's a hurricane?